By....Northstar
An exhausted Karin walked into her cabin after a long business trip where she was greeted by a profusion of flowers that completely obliterated the furniture in the living room. Every kind imaginable were there, from Birds of Paradise to Marigolds to Roses.
Stunned, she let her coat and suitcase drop to the floor and absently she put her keys on the counter. She walked into the room and waded thru the masses of flowers. She had no idea where on earth they could have come from. Looking from one arrangement to the next, she could find no card to give her a clue.
With a puzzled look on her face she went back into the kitchen area and put on a kettle of water to make herself a cup of tea. The trip had been a long one but a profitable one for her. She had sold more of her illustrations to a childrens book publisher, but the negotations had taken longer than she had planned. She had another deadline coming up soon and had hoped to have a few days to wind down from this trip. And now she had all these flowers to contend with. They were beautiful but they made the air in the room almost a bit too stifling for her. Karin went around and opened a few windows to let the fresh air in. As she did she looked for a clue as to how anyone could have gotten into the cabin. None of the windows were tampered with and the door had been locked when she had put her key in.
As the kettle whistled to let her know that it was ready, she poured the water into the tea pot and got herself down a mug from the shelves. Letting the tea steep for a few minutes she got down the tin of cookies and started munching on one, then she poured herself a cup and went around the counter and sat down on one of the stools.
As she was half way thru, her fax started up. She wandered over to take a look to see who it was from. "Hm, now that is strange." she thought to herself, "no return information." There was just a very simple message on the sheet of paper that was spewed out when it was finished.
Damn, still no clue as to who they could be from. This was really getting to her. She hadn't been seeing anyone for a few months and any of her old boyfriends wouldn't have the nerve to do this.
Karin took her tea and set it down on the table beside her favourite chair. Then she turned around to the fireplace and set a match to the kindling that had already been arranged. In a few minutes she could feel the warmth starting to come out from the fireplace. She then went and turned down the thermostat and sat down in her chair.
Karin always did enjoy the wood heat much better than the electric, but needed it for when she had to go away. She always loved the view from here. Looking out over the lake to see smoke curling out of the chimneys of her neighbours homes, watching the animals frolic in the snow or watching the deer browse on the bushes. She wondered if it would have been any of them that left the flowers, but somehow she doubted it. She hadn't really gotten that close to any of her neighbours other than to say hello.
Just then the thought occured to her that maybe it had been her agent that had sent the flowers! Yup, that was probably who it was. Isobelle was really happy that the contract negotiations had gone so well and this was her way of saying a big thank you.
Finishing her tea she got up, put the cup in the sink and gathered up her suitcase. Lugging it up to her sleeping loft she set it on her bed and started to unpack. When she was done, she put the case back into the closet and went to get her bath ready.
Karin liberally poured in the bubble bath. It had been a very hectic trip and she deserved to have a good hot soak before she went to bed. She had eaten on the plane so she wasn't very hungry. A good soak, a good book and a good sleep was what she needed. While the bath was filling up, she went around the room and lit the candles that were sitting on her dresser and night stand as well as the oil lamp. She always loved the way the candles made dancing shadows on the walls and it made everything more cosy.
Going into the bathroom, she turned the water off and went downstairs to look after the fire and make sure everything was locked up for the night. She grabbed a few of the arrangements and made her way upstairs again.
Feeling much better after her bath, she crawled into her bed, grabbed her book and started reading.......
Getting up early the next morning, Karin felt much better. She was halfway down the stairs when there was a knock on her door. Wondering who it could be so early in the day, she went over and opened up the door.
A young delivery boy was standing there with a parcel in his hands and looking around.
"Hello. May I help you?" Karin asked.
"Oh. Yeah. I have a parcel here for someone named Karin. Is that you?"
"Yes it is. Who is it from?"
"No idea lady. I just deliver 'em. You'll have to sign here."
Karin leaned over to sign the paper on the clipboard, took the parcel and turned and went back inside, puzzled more than ever. Setting the parcel down on the kitchen counter she went over and stoked up the fire and then put the kettle on.
Picking out a knife she started cutting open the box. Inside enfolded in tissue paper and bubble wrap, was the most exquisite looking sculpted figure of a Doe and her fawn. "How beautiful" she thought to herself. Setting it down she looked thru the box hoping to find some clue as to who the sender was. Now she was getting intrigued. There was no way that Isobelle would have sent her something like this, and she would not have been mysterious about it either.
While she was waiting for the kettle to boil, she walked over to the phone to call Isobelle to see if she had any idea as to what was going on. The phone rang 4 times before it was picked up on the other end.
"Hello" Isobelle said groggily.
"Oops, sorry Is! forgot how early it was. How are you?"
"Besides sleepy? I'm fine. Why?"
"Well, I have an interesting situation here and I am hoping that you may be able to help me."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, someone, and I have no idea who, inundated me with flowers when I got home yesterday and now this morning there was a gift delivered, and I have absolutely no clue as to who it could have come from. You have any ideas?"
"Flowers and a gift huh? neat." Is replied. "But, can't help you out. Sorry."
"Wait a minute there Is!! You almost sound as though you know who sent them. Is that 'can't' as in you don't honestly know or is that 'can't' in that you promised you wouldn't?"
"Weeeellllll, I just can't tell you."
"Is, come on, don't do this to me. If you know who sent it then I really would like you to tell me!! This is driving me nuts here!!!"
"You'll find out soon enough! and that is all I'm going to tell you." she said. "Just make sure you are home all day."
"Arghhhh, I'll get you for this. And I won't forget it!"
"Have a nice day Karin!! I need to go now. Thanks for the wake-up call. Bye." and with that Is hung up.
With not much else to do, Karin tidied up the house, got in some more firewood and re-arranged the flowers around the living room. She had just gotten done and was thinking about making herself some lunch when there was another knock on the door. She went over and opened it up to find another delivery person standing there. He held nothing in his hands but an envelope which he handed to her once she identified herself and then he left.
Closing the door behind her, she ripped open the envelope and started to read the contents of the note.
PS: wear your woolies!!!!
This was getting more and more interesting. She knew exactly where she was suppose to go. Getting herself dressed warmly and pulling on her boots, she left the cabin to follow the directions that were in the note.
Just before she got there, she could smell the smoke of a fire and when she walked into the clearing she saw the source of it.
The snow had been tramped down into the shape of a heart with the fire sitting in the middle of it. To the one side was a blanket spread out with a picnic basket, two glasses and a bottle of wine and all kinds of heart shaped boxes of chocolate. And in the middle of all that lay a tray of strawberries with a bowl of whipped cream in the middle.
Glancing around, Karin didn't see anyone, so she walked over to the blanket to sit down and wait. There was still no clue as to who her mysterious guest could be. Just then she heard a sound to the back of her and when she turned around she was very pleasantly surprised to see who it was.
"I thought I wasn't ever going to see you again." she said.
"I know Karin, but I just couldn't stay away. Are you surprised?" he asked.
"Yes, but pleasantly so. Now I know how the flowers got into the house. They were beautiful. Thank you. Now come here so that I can greet you properly." Karin demanded.
"With pleasure my dear." and with that Egran walked over to give his valentine a proper hello.